The Personal Branding 7-Item Checklist

Are you getting started in business as some sort of sole trader? Maybe an artist, writer, plumber, singer, hypnotherapist or perhaps even a podiatrist (aka the dictionary definition of a single trader)?

Well no matter how skilled you might be at healing people’s aching tootsies, you also need to know how to effectively market yourself to avoid being trampled under heel by the competition.

So with that in mind, this article will walk you through the steps you need to take to become an online branding powerhouse and avoid shooting yourself in the foot with haphazard marketing strategies.

But let’s not tip-toe around. Time to get started. Here is our personal branding checklist!

Personal Branding #1: Think about your audience

First things first, you need to think about who you’re targeting because that will determine everything you do when moving forward. Put together a list of the different types of people you want to focus on and create audience profiles for them. List their names, ages, genders, occupations, pet peeves etc. The more you know who your audience is, the better you’ll be able to appeal to their needs.

Personal Branding #2: Give yourself some personality

Now you know who your audience is, you need to craft a personality that they’ll like and deeply embed it into your communications. Joe Rogan has almost 2 million subscribers and is enormous with 18-40-year-old men who are spiritually conscious, un-PC, and into heavily masculine activities like MMA. All of which are topics that he’s into and features heavily on his show. What would resonate with your audience?

Personal Branding #3: Define your unique selling point

What makes you unique among your peers? Why should someone do business with you over your competitors? Whatever you decide on is your USP. Have a good think about it because it will bleed out into the other points in this article.

Personal Branding #4: Make a memorable slogan

A memorable slogan will distinguish you from the unwashed and barefooted masses that comprise your competition so don’t take it lightly. Think of it as a 5-second pitch for your brand. BMW has “Designed for driving pleasure.”M&M’s have “Melts in your mouth. Not in your hands.”

What could yours be? Remember your USP and think of an ingenious way to incorporate it.

Personal Branding #5: Choose the right TOV

Your tone of voice (TOV) will form the basis of all of your communications, whether on social media, phone calls, emails, or web page copy etc. It needs to be in sync with your brand identity to ensure that you come across as congruent. Is yours a happy go lucky and zany identity or one that’s more serious and professional? Whatever it is, make sure you create a TOV that lets you communicate with potential customers in a way that reinforces rather than undermines it.

Personal Branding #6: Create a great logo

You know how a choice of footwear can either make or break an outfit? Well, a choice of logo can either make or break a brand. It’s often the first thing people see when they find you, so it needs to make a great first impression. But how to make a logo? Outsourcing to talented professionals is recommended but expensive, while the recent explosion of logo makers are more affordable and versatile. These highly specialised bits of software can offer powerful design solutions at astonishingly low rates.

Personal Branding #7: Embrace social media

Social media might be responsible for a dearth of face-to-face interactions in the real world, but it’s also responsible for a boon in sole trader income. But don’t spread yourself thin. Create profiles on all social networks and experiment until you find the two which are best for you. Use your logo as your picture, your TOV in all of your posts, and have your catchy slogan in your bio.

How did you find this personal branding checklist? Let us know in the comments section below!